My daughters are only three years and seven months - years away from becoming part of the tween set - but I was still excited to hear about PBS' launch of a science program for pre-teen girls. In my book, anything aimed at making science seem cool - especially to girls - is a good thing, and I'm hopeful the show will be around when my girls are old enough to watch. Strollerderby has more today:
Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Program for Gender Equity, SciGirls is focused on increasing girls’ interest in scientific endeavors - from biology to engineering. A mix of animation and live action, it’s powered by a cartoon tween named Izzie, who enters an online community for girls - the SciGirls - to find answers to the problems of every day life.
What she finds there are videos shot around the country featuring average American girls (no actresses in sight) pursuing their own scientific goals, from creating a turtle habitat in the wetlands near their school to building giant parade-worthy puppets with eyes that really open and close.
It doesn't look like there's an official premier date yet - SciGirls.com just says February 2010 - but if you've got young girls at home, you might want to keep your eye on the Web site for more details. But a quick warning: the (semi-rap) theme song is very, very catchy; I fear I'm going to have "S-C-I-G-I-R-L-S, we need you!" in my head all day.
Previously: Pretty in pink
Photo by Argonne National Laboratory
